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Let’s Talk About Iraq (12/18/13)

The vast majority of my posts have been about scammers, lies, and numbers regarding currency valuation. But I think we need to remember that we’re also talking about a country. The IQD is the currency of Iraq, and it’s often stated that a currency is only as good as the government behind it. According to this chart there are only six countries with more corruption than Iraq.

Currencies tend to reflect the confidence in the country behind them. What is Iraq like today? Is it blossoming into the quasi-paradise of its neighbors in Kuwait or United Arab Emirates? It is becoming the land of bounty, the reborn Babylon of old? Well according to this article, not even close.

Since coalition forces left Iraq the country has slid into the cultural abyss. How anybody could take an honest look at today’s Iraq and conclude that they’re going to have one of the most valuable currencies in the world in the forseeable future is mind-boggling. The gurus won’t tell you this, but Iraq is a disaster. Far from the emerging nirvana presented in your typical dinar conference call, this is a country that is struggling to avoid civil war and a total collapse into a failed state. Sure, they have tons of oil. But as the article points out the oil industry produces comparatively few jobs and does little to improve the quality of life for the typical Iraqi. With widespread unemployment and poverty Iraq is fertile ground for anti-western sentiment and radical ideology.

In another article newly published, the escalating violence is reported to be responsible for 2,720 deaths since April 24. (Thanks to CFO for this link too.)

Corruption, deplorable living conditions, widespread carnage from terrorist activity ….. barring a lop, is there really any reason to expect this country’s currency to do anything other than languish around a tenth of a penny for the foreseeable future?